SS John W. Griffiths

SS John W. Griffiths
Career (United States)
Name:	John W. Griffiths
Namesake:	John W. Griffiths
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Blidberg & Rothchild Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1548
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,384,690
Yard number:	30
Way number:	5
Laid down:	13 December 1943
Launched:	9 February 1944
Completed:	25 March 1944
Identification:	Call Signal: KWBN
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia, 19 May 1946
Status:	Sold to Italy, 7 January 1947
Career (Italy)
Name:	Dino
Owner:	Corrado Societe di Navigazione, Genoa, Italy
Acquired:	7 January 1947
Fate:	Sold, 1963
Career (Italy)
Name:	Imera
Owner:	Sicilarma Societe di Navigazione per Azioni, Genoa, Italy
Acquired:	1963
Fate:	Scrapped, 1965
General characteristics
Class & type:	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C1, standard
Tonnage:	10,865 LT DWT 7,176 GRT
Displacement:	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light) 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max)
Length:	441 ft 6 in (135 m)
Beam:	56 ft 10.75 in (17.3419 m)
Draft:	27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power:	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × oil-fired boilers 1 × triple-expansion steam engine, 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW) (manufactured by Iron Fireman Manufacturing Co., Portland, Oregon) 1 × screw propeller
Speed:	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)
Capacity:	10,800 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Complement:	41
Armament:	Stern-mounted 4"/50 caliber (102 mm) gun for use against surfaced submarines variety of anti-aircraft guns

SS John W. Griffiths was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John W. Griffiths, a naval architect who was influential in his design of clipper ships.

Construction

John W. Griffiths was laid down on 13 December 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1548, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 9 February 1944.

History

She was allocated to Blidberg & Rothchild Co., Inc., on 25 March 1944. On 19 May 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group, in Lee Hall, Virginia. On 7 January 1947, she was transferred to the Italian Government, which in turn sold her to Corrado Socite di Navigazione, Genoa, Italy, for $544,506, on 10 January 1947. She was renamed Dino. In 1963, she was sold to Sicilarma Societe di Navigazione per Azioni, Genoa, and renamed Imera. She was scrapped in Spezia in 1965.

See also

• Convoy UGS-40

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/jonespanamacity.htm. 
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". http://www.glynngen.com/nautical/glynn/libertyships.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "John W. Griffiths". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/2695. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS John W. Griffiths". http://usmaritimecommission.de/.